Method of interactive video blogging

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus are provided for interactive video blogging. The method includes receiving, by a server, a comment attached to a video blog file from a first terminal, the comment being associated with a point of time at which the comment is displayed along with the video blog file; converting, by the server, the comment into a descriptor file; storing, by the server, the descriptor file; receiving, by the server, information on a selected one of a plurality of descriptor files stored in the server from a second terminal, the plurality of descriptor files representing a plurality of comments attached to the video blog file; and transmitting, by the server, the selected one of the plurality of descriptor files to the second terminal.

PRIORITY

This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/017,816, which was filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office onJan. 22, 2008, and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Indian PatentApplication Serial No. 118/CHE/2007, which was filed in the IndianIntellectual Property Office on Jan. 19, 2007, the content of each ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention in general relates to the field of multimediaapplications. The present invention involves the use of mobile phoneswith camera functionality, including mobile phones, smart phones, etc.;handheld devices with a camera, desktop applications, networkconnectivity, etc.; and desktop devices, such as a Personal Computer(PC). More particularly, this invention relates to a method ofinteractive video blogging.

2. Description of the Related Art

Patent publication number (WO/2004/102855), titled “Content PublishingOver Mobile Networks” discloses a system for using mobile phones togenerate instant messages and permanent text publishing, images andaudio files as mobile web logs (hereinafter, “mBlogs”) over mobilenetworks. The system allows a user to generate and publish text, andattach image files and audio files with a time and location of an eventas a non-revocable and integral part of the published content. Users areallowed to view and interact with the published content with mobilephones over mobile networks. The system allows for sorting of content bycategory and by indexing the material by the operator of a mobilenetwork, and allows the users of mBlogs to search for content bycategory as well as by indexing. Furthermore, the system allows users tosubscribe to mBlogs as multimedia messages for viewing on mobile phonesover mobile networks.

The current approach allows users to create web logs (hereinafter,“blogs”) from mobile devices and/or PCs with still images & text. Otherusers can also participate in blogging by adding text comments or stillimages. Blogging does not allow adding information in the form ofaudio-video as a blog or adding audio video comments or a combination oftext, audio, and video comment from mobile devices and/or PCs.

The current approach to video blogging is inefficient & does not allow auser to express his/her views in interactive ways as video blogs lackmethods to co-relate user comments and original content.

Entering text as a comment is difficult & cumbersome, particularly if auser is using a handheld device like a mobile phone. The process ofentering text as a comment consumes a lot of a user's time. It isdifficult to associate text comments with specific portion of videoblog. Allowing users to insert audio/video comments in adds more valueand meaning, which is not possible with the current approach.

The information or comments added by other users in a video blog arejust sequentially listed, and there is no mechanism currently availableto co-relate user comments and a specific portion of the original videoblog. A user may wish to add his/her audio, video or text comment withrespect to specific point in an original video, while watching theoriginal video. But currently, there is no available method that allowsusers to create audio, video or text comments with respect to a specificportion of the video or inserting comment at specific time whilewatching.

Original blog & comments added by other participants are inseparable.All comments are placed sequentially and every comment or informationadded by any user becomes an integral part of the blog, which increasesthe size of the blog, depending on the number of participating users andthe information added by each user.

Users have no ability to see the comments added by various users withrespect to specific portions or instant moments of the original blog.The user cannot see the added comments interleaved with the originalblog with respect to time and content, keeping the original blog andcomments as separate entities.

Users must download/stream a complete blog having original content andcomments added by all users every time the user wants to watch orparticipate in the blog.

As a video blog size grows depending on the number of participating userand the content added by the users, users who participate late feel aburden of uploading and downloading/streaming the video blog. Thedownloads and streams overload the server and network, and consume usertime and money.

A user has no option of selecting specific comments of his/her interestmade on his/her favorite video blog. The user must download/stream andwatch complete blog in order to see who has commented on the blog. Heneeds to download/stream and watch the complete blog in order to seejust one comment added by a friend.

A user has no option to select particular comments and watch/play theselected particular comments directly.

Currently there is no mechanism or method available that allows a userto insert a comment (text, audio, or audio-video) on an original blogand upload only the inserted comment. The user must upload the originalblog, all previous comments, and the new comment inserted by the user.

Currently there is no mechanism or method available that allows a userto insert comments (text, audio, audio-video) on original bloginstantaneously and upload only comments associated with a specificportion or a specific instant of the original video blog.

Currently there is no mechanism or method available, which allows a userto see an original blog and all comments (text, audio, or audio-video)inserted separately by various users (each comment is a separateentity).

Currently there is no mechanism or method available that allows a userto view an original blog and all comments (text, audio, audio-video) onthe original blog separately associated with a specific portion, or aspecific instant of the original video blog.

Currently there is no mechanism or method available that allows a userto see original blog and all comments (text, audio, or audio-video) onthe original blog, add a comment to a comment (a comment of one userassociated with another user's comment) separately associated with aspecific portion or a specific instant of the original video blog, oradd a comment to the original video blog.

Currently there is no method that allows a user to see original blog andeach comment (text, audio, or audio-video) added by other users as aseparate entity and therefore cannot download/stream the original blogalong with comments of the user's choice.

A user may wish to insert a comment (text, audio, or audio-video) at aspecific time while watching original blog and may want other users tosee his inserted comment played at the same time while watching thevideo blog. The insertion of a comment while watching a blog by one userand playback of the original blog along with the inserted comment at thesame time is not supported by current systems.

A user may wish to insert multiple comments in various forms (text,audio, or audio-video) at different points of time while watching anoriginal blog and may want other users to see his inserted commentsplayed at the same time while watching the video blog. The insertion ofcomments in various forms while watching the blog by one user at variouspoints of time and playback of the original blog along with insertedcomments at the same time is not supported by current systems.

A User may have a video blog along with comments made by various usersin various forms like text, audio, video, but the user has no option ofselecting comments by category (e.g., text, audio, audio-video etc.).

A user has no mechanism to play the comments added by a user's selectionof friends. The user has no mechanism to randomly select the commentsthe user wishes to see.

A user may have a video blog along with comments made by various usersin various forms like text, audio, video, but the user cannot select aparticular comment and directly play/watch the comment.

A user may have a video blog along with comments made by various usersin various forms like text, audio, video, but the user cannot select aparticular comment and directly play/watch the comment along with anassociated video or a specific portion of the video, etc.

The present invention addresses these needs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for video weblogging(blogging) application that enhances the blogging from just image andtext to audio-video and text content along with Interactive blogging

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a method forinteractive video blogging is provided. The includes receiving, by aserver, a comment attached to a video blog file from a first terminal,the comment being associated with a point of time at which the commentis displayed along with the video blog file; converting, by the server,the comment into a descriptor file; storing, by the server, thedescriptor file; receiving, by the server, information on a selected oneof a plurality of descriptor files stored in the server from a secondterminal, the plurality of descriptor files representing a plurality ofcomments attached to the video blog file; and transmitting, by theserver, the selected one of the plurality of descriptor files to thesecond terminal.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a server forinteractive video blogging is provided. The server includes a memory;and a controller that receives a comment attached to a video blog filefrom a first terminal, the comment being associated with a point of timeat which the comment is displayed along with the video blog file,converts the comment into a descriptor file, stores the descriptor filein the memory, receives information on a selected one of a plurality ofdescriptor files stored in the memory from a second terminal, theplurality of descriptor files representing a plurality of commentsattached to the video blog file, and transmits the selected one of theplurality of descriptor files to the second terminal.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method forinteractive video blogging is provided. The method includes displaying,by a terminal, a video blog file; receiving, by the terminal, a commentattached to the video blog file from a user of the terminal, the commentbeing associated with a point of time at which the comment is displayedalong with the video blog file; transmitting, by the terminal, thecomment to a server; transmitting, by the terminal, information on aselected one of a plurality of descriptor files stored in the server tothe server, the plurality of descriptor files representing a pluralityof comments attached to the video blog file; and receiving, by theterminal, the selected one of the plurality of descriptor files from theserver.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a terminalfor interactive video blogging is provided. The terminal includes amemory; a display that displays a video blog file; and a controller thatreceives a comment attached to the video blog file from a user of theterminal, the comment being associated with a point of time at which thecomment is displayed along with the video blog file, transmits thecomment to a server, transmits information on a selected one of aplurality of descriptor files stored in the server to the server, theplurality of descriptor files representing a plurality of commentsattached to the video blog file, and receives the selected one of theplurality of descriptor files from the server.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating components of a video bloggingapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a system for viewing and addingcomments to a video blog according to an embodiment of the presentinvention

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a method of viewing selected video blogcomments according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a method for real-time video bloggingaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Various embodiments according to the present invention will be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings. In the followingdescription of the embodiments of the present invention, a detaileddescription of known functions and configurations incorporated hereinwill be omitted when it may obscure the subject matter of the presentinvention.

The present invention is a new method for video weblogging (blogging)application that enhances the blogging from just image and text contentto audio-video and text content along with “Interactive AV blogging.” Auser can create a video blog using a device having a camera andrecording functionality. The user can also use an existing orpre-recorded file as a video blog.

A user can upload a video blog to a server or a video blogging siteusing conventional methods such as an e-mail attachment, File TransferProtocol (FTP) or a method recommended by a service provider or thevideo blogging site. The method provided herein assumes that some meansare available to the user to upload a video blog to a server/video blogsite using a device available to the user, such as a mobile phone, asmart phone, a Personal Computer (PC) or any such handheld device. Onceuploaded, accessing the same video blog by the owner or other usersdepends on terms and conditions offered by a host server/video blog siteor a service provider. The example method provided herein assumes thatthere are some means available to access an uploaded video blog, eitherby an owner, some users or a group of people that are granted limitedaccess by the owner, video blog sites the service provider, or anybody(global access). The owner of the video blog may share the blog to somepeople by entering the other users' mobile numbers or userIdentifications (IDs) and may invite the users to watch and participatein the video blog. The invited people might get some notification of theinvitation through e-mail, Short Message Service (SMS) or MultimediaMessage Service (MMS). If a video blog is shared by all users foraccess, then a notification is not necessary and anybody can accessuploaded video. People with access can watch the video blog online usingweb player. If any user wants to add a comment on the video blog theuser must download the blog or have a streaming client (a player thatcan play data streamed by the server). The method provided hereinassumes that some means are available to the user to download/stream thevideo blog from the server, video blog site using the device availablewith the user such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a PC, or anyhandheld device.

With the existing methods a user can add only text comments. But thepresent invention, “Interactive Video Blogging” (I-VB) enables a user toinsert a comment in a form of text, audio, or audio video, at any pointof time, while playing a video blog. The user selects a video blog ofchoice, downloaded by the user, or selects a video blog to be streamedfrom a server and starts playing a video file.

The application shows two windows on an LCD—one playing a video blog(W1) and another is empty (W2). Whenever the user wants to insert thecomment in the video blog the user should select an “Insert” option.Whenever the user selects the insert option, an application pausesplayback of the video blog playing in one window (W1). The user mustselect a comment type (e.g., text, audio or Audio-video). If the userselects a “text” option then the other window (W2) shows a text editorand allows the user to input text characters to add a text comment. Ifthe user selects an “Audio” option, then the application allows the userto record his comment as audio clip. If a user selects an “Audio-Video”option then, the other window (W2) shows a camera preview and the usercan record audio-video comment. The user can resume playback of a videoblog from the same position in window W1 by using an option “resume”after recording his comment. The user can repeat the above procedure of“insert” and “resume” while watching the video blog to insert commentsin the form of text, audio or audio-video at various points of time.

The inserted comment does not affect the original video blog. Theinserted comment becomes a separate descriptor file. Depending on theoption selected by the user each insertion becomes a separate descriptorfile or all insertions during a session can be merged into onedescriptor file.

The descriptor file has two major parts (i.e., data and metadata). Thepurpose of metadata in the descriptor file is to allow the user todefine the type of comment (text, audio or audio-video) andremember/record the information such as for which file(downloaded/streamed video blog or for a comment on video blog) thecomment is inserted, details of the video blog like date/time, at whichpoint of time the comment is inserted while playing, video frame number,audio frame number of the video blog, time of insertion and offset. Thisinformation helps to co-relate or associate the descriptor file with thecorrect video blog or comment on the video blog, and provides theinformation about the exact location of where the comment is inserted.Along with the above information, the descriptor stores the data (text,audio, video) inserted by the user in a compressed/encoded form.

The above information enables an application to find the relationbetween the descriptor file and the associated video blog. The aboveinformation also provides perfect information concerning when aparticular comment in a descriptor file is inserted and a type ofcomment. Using the above information, it is possible to play originalvideo blog along with the comments inserted at various point of time atcorrect time if original blog & descriptor file is available.

In descriptor file the text information is stored in American Standardof Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) form whereas, audio andvideo information is stored in the format used in original video blog.For example, if original blog is recorded in the H.263 Video andAdvanced Audio Coding (AAC) format, then an inserted Audio-Visual (AV)comment is also stored in the H.263 & AAC format. In order to supportthis functionality, the application checks the codec type of video blog& initializes the same for inserting audio-video comments at thebeginning.

The present invention provides two formats of the descriptor file; oneformat is proprietary (new/non-standard) and the other format is the3^(rd) Generation Platform (3gp)/Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG-4(mp4)) format. In case of the 3gp/mp4 format, any audio or audio-videocomment inserted by the user is recorded as per the 3gp/mp4specification. But all other information like metadata and text commentis written as user defined atom. Therefore, the descriptor file createdby application can be played in any 3gp/mp4 compliant player. But ascomplete metadata is in the user-defined atom of the 3gp/mp4 descriptorfile, all players other than I-VB application can not co-relatedescriptor file with its associated video blog and can not play commentsat right time.

The present invention also provides a proprietary method of writingmetadata and data as a descriptor file. In this case I-VB recordsmetadata and data required to associate a descriptor file with aspecific video blog along with the timing information. The disadvantageof this method is that only the I-VB application can play and co-relatedescriptor file with its associated video blog and can play comments atthe right time. There are two ways in which the user can insertcomments. The user can download the blog and can play the blog in theI-VB application for inserting comments or can insert comments whileplaying a streamed blog in the I-VB application. Thus after downloadinga video blog or while streaming the original blog, the user can play thevideo blog in the I-VB application and can insert comments in the formof a text, audio, or audio-video file. The inserted comment does notbecome part of original blog. The above method enables the user toparticipate in video blogging by inserting comments in the form of text,audio, and audio-video instantaneously at a suitable location whilewatching the original blog in real-time without modifying the videoblog. The comments inserted by the user become a separate descriptorfile. The user only needs to upload the descriptor file and does notupload the video blog. Multiple users can simultaneously download/streamthe blog and can participate in video blogging by creating descriptorsfiles and then uploading only descriptor files to server withoutuploading the video blog. If there are already such descriptor filescreated and uploaded by some users, then a new user can see the originalblog and various separate descriptor files on the server. The servershows a listing of the original blog, comments added, and comments tocomments added by the users as descriptor files. It is possible to playthe original video blog and selected descriptor files online or througha web-player if the server runs the I-VB application. But the user canonly watch the video blog and inserted comments with respect to time andcannot insert any comments through the web-player.

A new user can select descriptor files of choice and can download thedescriptor files along with the original blog. The new user opens theoriginal blog along with the descriptor file/files of choice. If theuser selects a play option, then the application starts playing theoriginal blog. The application shows two windows on a Liquid CrystalDisplay (LCD), i.e., W1 and W2 and play the original blog in W1. Theapplication checks the metadata in various descriptor files and keepsthe track of types of comment and when the comments were inserted in theoriginal blog. Based on information available whenever the applicationfinds any comment to be played at a particular instant, the applicationpauses the playback of the original video blog in W1 and starts playingthe comment in W2. If the comment is text, then the application showstext comment in W2. For audio, the application plays audio comments,whereas for audio-video comments, the application plays comment in W2.The application resumes playback when user selects resume or when thecomment ends. Using the above method, it is possible to see/watch all ofthe comments inserted at various points of time during a playback of theoriginal video.

The application also provides quick and easy access to the commentsinserted in the blog and directly goes to the selected comment and thecomment's associated video point in the original video blog. The usercan select the original blog along with descriptor files of the user'schoice and then types of comments like text, audio, or audio-video. Theapplication provides a listing of all text or audio or audio-videocomments along with a video thumbnail, which is a starting point of theassociated video in video blog. The user can select a comment and candirectly jump to that comment and the comment's associated video. Thesame user, if interested, can insert a new comment after watching othercomments and can upload the new comment to the server.

The application also allows the user to convert a descriptor file to anew video blog. In this case, the application deletes all references tothe original video blog. The owner of the video blog can update theoriginal video blog by merging some or all descriptor files to theoriginal video blog and can upload again. For example, the user canmerge three descriptor files with original blog out of six filesavailable on server. The user must delete descriptor files merged withoriginal file and must update remaining to upload on to the server. Theapplication also provides an option of playing all comments back-toback.

It is also possible to play/stream a few or all of the comments selectedby user with respect to the time along with the original blog at server,if the server uses the I-V blog application.

A user can watch the original blog along with the comments inserted byother users, i.e., comments inserted with respect to the content/time ofinsertion, using a streaming player as server streams down the datausing the technique described above to play the original blog andcomments using I-VB application.

Referring to FIG. 4, the following scenario is explained to describe anexemplary embodiment of the present invention:

Step 1: User 1 creates an Audio-Video (AV) Blog B1 with a duration of 20seconds and uploads the AV Blog B1 to the server.

Implementation: The AV Blog B1 can be any User-Created Content (UCC)that User 1 wants to publish.

Step 2: User2 downloads/streams AV Blog B1 and views the downloadedblog.

Implementation: AV Blog B1 can be downloaded/streamed using an IVBplayer. B1 is a 3gp file and can be played in any compliant player.However, the IVB player will also allow the viewer to instantaneouslyadd comments while playing the AV Blog B1.

Step 3: While viewing AV Blog B1, User 2 adds a text comment TC1 to B1at the five-second time point, and then uploads the text comment TC1 tothe server.

Implementation: The comment addition is possible when the User2 viewingB1 in the IVB player, wishes to insert a comment and then presses an“insert” button. When the insert button is pressed, two things happen:

First, the User2 is prompted with a choice of comment User2 wishes toadd, i.e. text, audio, or audio-video. Based on the selected type, theother information is derived as below.

The time at which insert button is pressed is noted. Based on this timeand the above chosen type of comment, the information is stored.

Text: The timestamp is stored at time point 5000 ms; the video framewith respect to this time is determined and is stored in a user-definedatom in Meta data of the descriptor file. The text track is stored asper the 3gp file format specification.

Step 4: User3 adds only Audio Comment AC1 to B1 at the 7th second of B1.

Implementation:

Audio: The timestamp is stored at time point 7000 ms; the audio framewith respect to this time is determined and is stored in a user-definedatom in Meta data of the descriptor file. The audio track is stored asper the 3gp file format specification.

Step 5: While viewing B1, User4 adds Audio-Video comment AVC1 to B1 atthe 10th second of B1.

Implementation:

Audio-Video: The timestamp is stored at time point 10000 ms; the nearestvideo I-frame with respect to this time is determined and is stored in auser-defined atom in Meta data of the descriptor file. The audio-videotracks are stored as per the 3gp file format specification.

Along with the timestamp and frame number information, associativeinformation, like a creator's name, a parent blog, a creation date andtime etc., is also stored.

Step 6: User 5 can selectively download the comments and original blogB1 to watch the blog B1 and the comments offline. Or User 5 can view thecomments inline with blog B1, wherein B1 and the selected comments wouldbe streamed.

Implementation: Step 6 can be broken into two parts and individuallyexplained as below:

Selectively Download Comments: This implies that User 5 would be given achoice to select the category of comments User 5 wishes to view. Thecategories can be: type of comment, author of the comment, date and timeof the comment, comments associated with a portion of the blog, etc.When User 5 selects a category, all the comments that belong to thatcategory will be displayed; User 5 can select either all or any of thedisplayed comments.

View the comments inline where B1 can either be streamed or downloaded:User 5 can either download comments and the original blog to watch theblog offline or can watch using a streaming player. The technique usedfor local playback and for streamed playback is the same as thetechnique for playing comments with respect to time in the originalblog. This technique is implemented using the information stored in thedescriptor file, while addition of comments is performed as describedabove. The frame number and timing information is used to stopplaying/streaming of the blog B1 and start playing/streaming the commentat the appropriate frame number of the blog B1.

Text Comment Playback: The frame number after which this comment is tobe played is stored in the user-defined data of the meta data in thedescriptor file.

Audio Comment Playback: The frame number after which this comment is tobe played is stored in the user-defined data of the meta data in thedescriptor file.

Audio Video Comment Playback: The frame number after which this commentis to be played is stored in the user-defined data of the meta data inthe descriptor file.

Requirements to implement the invention:

A mobile terminal or an embedded device or any handheld device or PCwith camera functionality;

Software/hardware to encode camera frames to the format specified byuser;

Software/hardware to decode frames from the file;

A CPU to control and meet the real time constraints of the application;

A display device, with audio capture, and real-time playbackcapabilities;

A media file reader and writer for the format specified by the user;

A storage device or memory with read/write capability;

Software/hardware to upload/download a video blog to a server; and

Software/hardware to play streamed data from the server (streamingplayback).

The block diagram of FIG. 1 demonstrates the system more concretely. Asshown in FIG. 1, the system basically comprises an ApplicationController 100 including an Upload/Download Engine 110 and an I-VideoBlog Engine 120, a User Control 300, a Recorder Engine 400, a PlayerEngine 410, a Read/Write Memory 140, and a Codec 500.

A CPU corresponds to the Application Controller 100, software/hardwareto upload/download a video blog corresponds to the Upload/DownloadEngine 110, and the software/hardware to play corresponds to the I-VideoBlog engine 120. The peripheral devices are not shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, a system for viewing and adding comments to a videoblog according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention isillustrated. The diagram also illustrates the selection of the VideoBlog and Comments.

Referring to FIG. 3, a method of viewing selected video blog comments isillustrated. The method further includes inserting or adding a user'scomments at a specific portion of the blog.

The new I-VB approach allows a user to add information in the form ofaudio-video as a blog or add audio-video comments or a combination oftext, audio, and video comments from a mobile/PC instantaneously.

The new approach to video blogging is easy, efficient, and allows a userto express the user's views interactively as the approach has methods toco-relate user comments and original content.

Entering text as a comment is difficult and cumbersome particularly ifuser is using handheld device like mobile phone. Entering text consumeslot of user time. It is difficult to associate a text comment withspecific portion of a video blog. The new approach of video bloggingallows a user to insert a comment in the form of audio video adds morevalue and meaning.

In the conventional method, the information or comments added by otherusers in a video blog are placed sequentially, and there is no mechanismcurrently available to co-relate user comments and a specific portion ofthe original video blog. With the new method a user can add the user'saudio, video or text comment with respect to a specific point in theoriginal video while watching the video.

In the conventional method, the original blog and comments added byother participants are inseparable. All comments are put placedsequentially and every comment or information added by any user becomesan integral part of the blog, which causes the blog to grow in sizeaccording to the number of participating users and the information addedby each user. This problem is solved by the present invention, as eachcomment becomes a separate descriptor file and therefore, the originalblog remains unchanged.

In the conventional method, a user must download/stream a complete blogevery time whenever the user wants to watch or participate in the blog.The present invention enables a user to download the original blog andcomments of the reader's choice.

In the current method, as video blogs' size grows according to thenumber of participating users and the content added by the users, a userwho participates late feels a burden of uploading anddownloading/streaming video blog. The conventional method overloads theserver, the network, and consumes user time and money. This problem isprevented in the present invention, as the size of original blog remainssame irrespective of the number of participating users and commentsadded by the users.

In the conventional method, a user cannot select specific comments ofthe user's interest made on a favorite video blog. The user mustdownload/stream and watch a complete blog in order to see who hascommented on the blog. The present invention proposes a method whereinuser knows how many comments and who commented on the blog withoutdownloading/streaming the blog.

In the conventional method, a user cannot select particular comments anddirectly watch/play the blog. In the present invention, the user canselect and download a particular comment.

In the conventional method, there is no mechanism or method availablethat allows a user to insert a comment (text, audio, audio-video) on anoriginal blog and upload only the comment. The user must upload theoriginal blog, all previous comments, and new the comment inserted bythe User. In the present invention, the user may download/stream onlythe original video blog, to insert his comment & needs to upload onlycomment.

In the conventional method there is no mechanism or method availablethat allows a user to insert comments (text, audio, audio-video) on anoriginal blog instantaneously and upload only comments associated withspecific portion, specific instant of the original video blog. Thepresent invention allows user to insert a comment and co-relate to aspecific point or portion of the original video blog.

In the conventional method there is no mechanism or method availablethat allows a user to see an original blog and comments (text, audio,audio-video) inserted, until now by various users separately (eachcomment is a separate entity). In the present invention, every commentcan become a separate entity.

In the conventional method there is no mechanism or method availablethat allows user to see an original blog and all comments (text, audio,audio-video) on the original blog separately associated with specificportion, specific instant of the original video blog. The presentinvention allows the user to watch the original video blog and commentsinserted by various users associated with a specific portion, or aspecific instant of the original video blog.

In the conventional method there is no mechanism or method availablethat allows user to see an original blog and all comments (text, audio,audio-video) on the original blog, comment-to-comment (comments of oneuser associated with another user's comment) separately associated witha specific portion of the original blog, a specific instant of theoriginal video blog or a comment of original video blog. The presentinvention enables a user to comment on a previously inserted comment.

A user may wish to insert a comment (text, audio, audio-video) at aspecific time while watching an original blog and may want other usersto see the user's inserted comment played at the same time whilewatching the video blog. The insertion of comments while watching blogby one user and playback the original blog along with inserted commentsat the right time is not supported by current approach but is nowpossible with the new approach according to the present invention.

A user may wish to insert multiple comments in various forms (text,audio, audio-video) at different point of time while watching anoriginal blog and may want other users to see the user's insertedcomments played at the same time while watching the video blog. Theinsertion of a comment in various forms while watching blog by one userat various points of time and playback of the original blog along withinserted comments at the same time is not supported by conventionalapproaches, but is now possible with the new approach according to thepresent invention.

A user may have a video blog along with comments made by various usersin various forms like text, audio, video. The user cannot selectcomments category-wise, like text, audio, audio-video, etc., which ispossible with the new method proposed in the present invention.

A user may have a video blog along with comments made by various usersin various forms like text, audio, video. The user cannot select aparticular comment and play/watch the comment directly, which ispossible with the method proposed in the present invention.

A user may have a video blog along with comments made by various usersin various forms like text, audio, video. The user cannot select aparticular comment and play/watch the comment directly along with theassociated video or specific portion of the video, etc., which ispossible with the method proposed in the present invention.

It will also be obvious to those skilled in the art that other controlmethods and apparatuses can be derived from the combinations of thevarious methods and apparatuses of the present invention as taught bythe description and the accompanying drawings and these shall also beconsidered within the scope of the present invention. Further,description of such combinations and variations is therefore omittedabove. It should also be noted that hosts for storing the applicationsinclude, but are not limited to a microchip, a microprocessor, ahandheld communication device, a computer, a rendering device, or amulti-function device.

Although the present invention has been fully described in connectionwith the certain embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications arepossible and are apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes andmodifications are to be understood as included within the scope of thepresent invention as defined by the appended claims unless they departthere from.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for interactive video blogging, themethod comprising the steps of: receiving, by a server, a commentattached to a video blog file from a first terminal, the comment beingassociated with a point of time at which the comment is displayed alongwith the video blog file; converting, by the server, the comment into adescriptor file; storing, by the server, the descriptor file; receiving,by the server, information on a selected one of a plurality ofdescriptor files stored in the server from a second terminal, theplurality of descriptor files representing a plurality of commentsattached to the video blog file; and transmitting, by the server, theselected one of the plurality of descriptor files to the secondterminal.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality ofcomments has a text form, an audio form, or an audio-video form.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of descriptor filescomprises a data area for storing a comment and a metadata area fordefining the comment.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the data areacomprises at least one of a text comment, an audio comment, and a videocomment created in a compressed or encoded form.
 5. The method of claim3, wherein the metadata area comprises a type of the comment.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the metadata area further comprises a pointof time at which the comment is displayed.
 7. A server for interactivevideo blogging, the server comprising: a memory; and a controller thatreceives a comment attached to a video blog file from a first terminal,the comment being associated with a point of time at which the commentis displayed along with the video blog file, converts the comment into adescriptor file, stores the descriptor file in the memory, receivesinformation on a selected one of a plurality of descriptor files storedin the memory from a second terminal, the plurality of descriptor filesrepresenting a plurality of comments attached to the video blog file,and transmits the selected one of the plurality of descriptor files tothe second terminal.
 8. The server of claim 7, wherein each of theplurality of comments has a text form, an audio form, or an audio-videoform.
 9. The server of claim 7, wherein each of the plurality ofdescriptor files comprises a data area for storing a comment and ametadata area for defining the comment.
 10. The server of claim 9,wherein the data area comprises at least one of a text comment, an audiocomment, and a video comment created in a compressed or encoded form.11. The server of claim 9, wherein the metadata area comprises a type ofthe comment.
 12. The server of claim 11, wherein the metadata areafurther comprises a point of time at which the comment is displayed. 13.A method for interactive video blogging, the method comprising the stepsof: displaying, by a terminal, a video blog file; receiving, by theterminal, a comment attached to the video blog file from a user of theterminal, the comment being associated with a point of time at which thecomment is displayed along with the video blog file; transmitting, bythe terminal, the comment to a server; transmitting, by the terminal,information on a selected one of a plurality of descriptor files storedin the server to the server, the plurality of descriptor filesrepresenting a plurality of comments attached to the video blog file;and receiving, by the terminal, the selected one of the plurality ofdescriptor files from the server.
 14. The method of claim 13, whereineach of the plurality of comments has a text form, an audio form, or anaudio-video form.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein each of theplurality of descriptor files comprises a data area for storing acomment and a metadata area for defining the comment.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the data area comprises at least one of a textcomment, an audio comment, and a video comment created in a compressedor encoded form.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the metadata areacomprises a type of the comment.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein themetadata area further comprises a point of time at which the comment isdisplayed.
 19. A terminal for interactive video blogging, the terminalcomprising: a memory; a display that displays a video blog file; and acontroller that receives a comment attached to the video blog file froma user of the terminal, the comment being associated with a point oftime at which the comment is displayed along with the video blog file,transmits the comment to a server, transmits information on a selectedone of a plurality of descriptor files stored in the server to theserver, the plurality of descriptor files representing a plurality ofcomments attached to the video blog file, and receives the selected oneof the plurality of descriptor files from the server.
 20. The terminalof claim 19, wherein each of the plurality of comments has a text form,an audio form, or an audio-video form.
 21. The terminal of claim 19,wherein each of the plurality of descriptor files comprises a data areafor storing a comment and a metadata area for defining the comment. 22.The terminal of claim 21, wherein the data area comprises at least oneof a text comment, an audio comment, and a video comment created in acompressed or encoded form.
 23. The terminal of claim 21, wherein themetadata area comprises a type of the comment.
 24. The terminal of claim23, wherein the metadata area further comprises a point of time at whichthe comment is displayed.